OLD WORCESTER. 



WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ABOUT 1840. 



FOURTH PAPER IN CONTINUATION. 



By MRS. E. O. P. STURGIS. 




PRIVATELY PRINTED, 




2a i'hoi 



OLD WORCESTER. 



WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ABOUT 1840. 

FOURTH PAPER IN CONTINUATION. 

By MRS. E. 0. P. STURGIS. 
From Proceedings of Worcester Society of Antiquity. 



List of previous papers by the same writer, printed by ttie Worcester 
Society of Antiquity : — 

Old Time Cattle Show. Bulletin of Worcester Society of Antiquity, 
page 104, Vol. XVI., 1898. 

Extracts from Old Worcester Letters, Vol. XVI., 1899, page 557. 

Old Lincoln Street. Bygone days in Worcester. 1900, Vol. XVII., 
page 123. 

A Story of three Old Houses. Residences of Hon. Levi Lincoln. 
Proceedings, Vol. XVII., 1900, page 134. 

Old Worcester, No. 1, Vol. XVII., page 402, 1901. Lincoln Square, Main 
and Front Streets. Prominent houses and their occupants. 

Old Worcester, No. 2, Vol. XVII., page 413, 1901. Main and Pleasant 
Streets. Buildings and notable people residing there. 

Old Worcester, No. 3, Vol. XVII., page 470, 1901. Main Street resi- 
dences. The Second Parish (Unitarian) Church and its parishioners, 
during the pastorates of Rev. Dr. Aaron Bancroft and Rev. Dr. Alonzo 
Hill. The Gardiner Chandler House and the House of Rev. Dr. Aaron 
Bancroft. 



WORCESTER, MASS.: 

PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON, 

No. 311 Main Stkeet. 

1902. 



Frr, 



AJ 



OLD WORCESTER. IV. 

(Continued). 



Chestnut Street, About 1840. 

On Chestnut street, facing Pearl street, there stood a large 
handsome house painted white, with an extensive garden 
connected with it, owned and occupied by Mr. Francis H. 
Kinnicutt, with his wife and six children. He was the 
younger brother of Judge Kinnicutt, and had married Miss 
Parker, a niece of Hon. Levi Lincoln, having been engaged 
first to her elder sister, Martha, whose death prevented their 
union. Mr. Kinnicutt was a hardware merchant, and oc- 
cupied a store in " Paine 's Block," on the corner of Main 
and Walnut streets. Miss Sarah Parker, a younger sister 
of Mrs. Kinnicutt, formed a part of her family, and in this 
house was married to Mr. Joseph Mason. 

The next house on the north was occupied by Mr. Clarendon 
Harris and his wife, who was Miss Charlotte Thayer, but 
later by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Gale, Mr. Harris having 
built a cottage on Elm Street for his own use, nearly opposite 
to what is now the ''Jonas Clark" estate. Mr. Harris, 
when I recall him, kept a small store on the west side of 
Main street, where he sold stationery, a few books, and the 
usual matters pertaining to such a business. 

On the corner of Chestnut and Elm streets there stood a 
large handsome wooden house, occupied by Judge Pliny 
Merrick, one of the most prominent lawyers in the "County 
of Worcester." At an earlier date however, he lived on the 
eastern side of Main street, near Thomas street. I am igno- 



4 Old Worcester. IV. 

rant if the "Merrick Family" were indigenous to Worces- 
ter or not, but beside the Judge there were two brothers, 
one, Francis T., and Thornton, who married Miss Rebecca 
Curtis, a sister of Mrs. Dr. John Green, and two sisters, one 
the wife of Mr. Henry W. Miller, and another married to Mr. 
Samuel Allen, the father of Mrs. S. F. Haven, — all of whom 
were residents of Worcester at the same period. Judge 
Merrick was appointed one of the Supreme Court judges 
in 1853, and held the office until 1864. The latter years 
of Judge Merrick were spent in Boston, he having moved to 
that city on his elevation to the "Bench of the Supreme 
Court." Probably the most important case which Judge 
Merrick ever engaged in, was that of the "AVebster" 
murder case ; he defending Dr. John W. Webster, though 
ineffectually, from the result of his crime of murdering 
Dr. George Parkman. 

Judge Merrick married Miss Mary Thomas, the daughter of 
Isaiah Thomas, and granddaughter of Dr. Isaiah Thomas 
who was styled "one of the most patriotic and public spirited 
citizens of Worcester during and after the Revolutionary 
War." Dr. Thomas was a native of Boston, born January 
19, 1749, and was appointed postmaster in Worcester in 
1775, holding the office for many years. On July 14, 1776, 
he read to the people in front of the porch of "The Old South 
Meeting House " the " Declaration of Independence." He was 
the first president of the " American Antiquarian Society," 
and presented not only his valuable library to it, but gave 
gifts in money and built the hall which it formerly occupied 
on Summer street. John Hancock and Samuel Adams were 
living in Worcester when Dr. Thomas moved there with The 
Spy, and possibly it was owing to their influence and encour- 
agement that he was enabled to publish it in that town, they 
hoping perhaps that its teachings would "stem the tide" and 
counteract in some degree the royalist sentiment which at 
that period pervaded not only the town, but the "County 
of Worcester." The Spy or The American Oracle of Liberty 



Old Worcester. IV. 5 

was the first newspaper published in Worcester, although 
it had been established in Boston some years earlier.^ 

Dr. Thomas built a house, for those days an elegant man- 
sion, on the ground where the "New Court House" now 
stands, "the building containing his printing press standing 
just south of it," and here he passed the closing days of his 
life, dying in 1831, at the age of eighty-two years, "the most 
distinguished citizen of Worcester." "Dr. Thomas as well 
as Dr. Bancroft wore in the street long grey stockings, knee 
buckles, small-clothes and the capacious coat so fashionable 
among gentlemen in the beginning of the century, and he 
was one of the last to appear in the street in that costume." 

Judge and Mrs. Merrick had no children, but a niece of 
the latter, Miss Caroline Crocker, made her home with her 
aunt a part of the year, for the purpose of attending school 
in Worcester. Mrs. Merrick was a most estimable woman, 
and one much respected by her friends and acquaintances, 
and after her removal to Boston, her house was frequented 
by some of the most agreeable and noted people in the city, 
the legal element naturally predominating. 

On the northwestern corner of Elm and Chestnut streets 
there was as now a large open lot, belonging to the fine estate 
of the late S. M. Burnside, who moved from Main Street 
more than fifty years since, and was one of the first people 
to build in this part of the town. His former home was a 
large old fashioned house, on the east side of Main street, 
built of wood and painted white, with a large garden in 
the rear, and here the eldest of the family, a daughter, 
died more than sixty years since. Mrs. Burnside was a 
sister of the late Mr. Alfred D. Foster, who, following in 
the footsteps of his brother-in-law, migrated from Main 
street and built the next house to his on Chestnut street. 
Mr. Foster's house on Main street was built of brick, and 
finally became a hotel. All of the Foster family with one 
exception have now passed away. 

> The firat number of The Spy published in Worcester is dated May 3, 1776. 



6 Old Worcester. IV. 

The late Francis H. Dewey built a house beyond there 
going north, and here my knowledge of Chestnut street ends. 
I remember very little about the lower part of Elm street. 
Mr. H. B. Clafiin, who kept a dry goods store in the town, 
lived near the foot of the street, near Main (until he moved 
to New York), as did also Mr. Henry K. Newcomb, who 
married Miss Stiles, a sister of Mrs. A. D. Foster. On the 
southeastern corner of Elm and Chestnut streets, Mr. Francis 
T. Merrick had a house, with a garden extending down the 
street. He was at one period president of the Citizens' 
Bank, and was the father of the late Mrs. D. W. Lincoln, 
and in this house she was married. On the northern side of 
Elm street, Dr. Workman lived, above "The Church of 
the Unity," and there may have been other buildings there, 
but I cannot recall them.' 

Passing the ''Corner Lot," as it was called, on the corner 
of Elm and Chestnut streets, one came to a small wooden 
house built by Gov. Levi Lincoln for his own use, pending 
the building of his larger house farther west. Though small 
in extent, this was a pretty, attractive place, with a garden 
on the eastern side and a stable in the rear of the house. 
Mr. F. H. Kinnicutt occupied this house after Gov. Lincoln 
left it, and finally it became the property of the late George 
W. Richardson, who lived here with his wife and two chil- 
dren, Mr. Richardson came from Watertown, where he had 
married Miss Lucy White, a sister of the first Mrs. James 
Russell Lowell, and began the practice of law in Worcester. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Richardson died some years since, but 
the two children are still living, though away from their 
birthplace. A large garden extended from here to the resi- 
dence of the late Levi Lincoln, now occupied by his grandson. 

When Governer Lincoln first occupied his new house 
there was an unobstructed view of the country as far as 
"Newton Hill," but gradually the "Old Sever Farm" was 



•Between the Church of the Unity and Dr. Workman's were the residences of 
Calvin foster and Mason H. Morse. 



Old Worcester. IV. 7 

sold in lots, building having been given gin impetus by 
Gov. Lincoln moving so far out of town as it seemed at that 
period, and soon it was covered with houses. On the southern 
side of Elm street, after passing the house of Judge Merrick, 
the first building I recall was the cottage of Mr. Clarendon 
Harris, almost opposite Mr. Richardson's house. When 
Mr. A. H. Bullock married he lived in a small house on this 
side of the street, to the east however of the large house he 
built at a later date, now occupied by his son. Some time 
about 1840, Charles Paine built a house nearly opposite 
that of Governor Lincoln, but a little more to the west of it, 
and here he brought his first wife, who was Miss Elizabeth 
Ferguson, who died in 1842. Henry Paine, a twin brother 
of Charles, also died there in 1844. Some way over the hill 
Mr. Gardiner Paine had built a house on the corner of West 
and Elm Streets, and here he died in 1854, leaving a wife 
and two children. In this vicinity, but farther to the west, 
on Pleasant street, Mr. Daniel Waldo Lincoln lived on a farm. 
He was the third son of the Governor, and was interested in 
horticultural pursuits, owning green houses, etc., and was 
one of the first persons in the country to grow and exhibit 
the great Victoria water lily. He was born in Worcester 
in 1813 and married in 1841 Miss Frances F. Merrick, 
daughter of Francis T. Merrick. In 1863 and 1864 he was 
Mayor of Worcester, and at a later date became president of 
the Boston and Albany Railroad, which office he held at the 
time of his death. I do not remember the year, but some 
time early in the forties, in company with a party of young 
people of both sexes, I went one evening, by invitation, to 
the "Lincoln Farm," which in those days seemed far out of 
town, to a "Husking Bee," a form of entertainment which 
I presume is now obsolete in Worcester. We sat on piles of 
hay on the floor of the large barn and husked corn all the 
evening, but how the barn was lighted I cannot recall. I 
remember I was the only one of the company who found a 
"red ear." After our work was finished we adjourned to the 



8 Old Worcester. IV. 

house, where we had a supper appropriate to the occasion, 
consisting of apples, nuts, raisins, etc., and no doubt there 
was cider to drink, though I do not remember it. I fancy 
this gathering must have been a sort of housewarming, for 
handsome George Lincoln was there, and he died in 1847, 
and had been away from Worcester some time before that 
event. So the last "husking bee " in Worcester, as I suppose, 
took place nearly sixty years ago ! 

I remember very little about the Pleasant street of fifty or 
sixty years ago, and know nothing of its present condition. 
On the right-hand side. Judge Paine's land extended a long 
way up the street, and on the opposite one, that belonging 
to the "Nazro House." On the northern side at the top of 
the street was a small house in which lived Mrs. Stiles and 
her two daughters, the Misses Mary and Elizabeth Stiles. 
There was another daughter, Mrs. Wood, who lived on 
School street. After the hill was cut down, the access to 
this house was by means of a steep flight of wooden steps, 
it having formerly stood near the sidewalk. There may 
have been houses beyond here, but if so I cannot recall the 
fact. 

A short distance from Pleasant street going south, one 
came to the hill corresponding to " Court Hill," on the north 
part of Main street. I am not aware if this elevation was 
given any distinctive name, except that it was called either 
"Nobility Hill," or "Mt. Pisgah," but the "why and the 
wherefore" of these designations I am ignorant. The 
Chandler house stood at the point where the land began to 
rise from Main street, and next was the fine old mansion of 
Mr. Benjamin Butman, standing far back from the roadway, 
built and occupied by him after leaving the Chandler house, 
which he had bought in 1818. In or near the year 1822, 
he moved into his new house. 

Mr. and Mrs. Butman, with his niece Miss Ferguson, who 
later married Mr. Charles Paine, with an adopted son and 
daughter, composed the family. George Butman married 



Old Worcester. IV. 9 

Miss Mary Dowley, daughter of Levi A. Dowley, and died 
many years ago, having outlived his wife. When Mr. 
Butman left this house, Dr. Joseph Sargent bought it, and 
lived in it until the march of improvement caused it to be 
moved elsewhere. I do not remember in what order the 
next three houses came, but one, a fine, large wooden house, 
with end to the street, the entrance being on the north side, 
which was reached by a pathway from the front, was owned 
and occupied by Mr. George Tilly Rice, with his wife and 
two sons. 

Mrs. Rice was Miss Elizabeth Chandler Blake, daughter 
of Hon. Francis Blake of Worcester. Mr. Rice was born in 
1796 and died in 1867. He was a merchant, and president 
of the Worcester and Nashua R. R. Mrs. Rice outlived her 
husband some years and died in the house on Elm street, 
which she built after his death. 

One of these three houses belonged to Mr. John Milton Earle, 
and the other to Mr. Anthony Chase, and both were occupied 
by them and their families. These gentlemen were Quakers 
and men much respected in the town of Worcester, where 
their descendants are still living. Mr. John Milton Earle was 
much interested in horticultural pursuits and prominent in 
the annual exhibitions of the Horticultural Society. There 
was still another house in this vicinity, but I cannot recall 
who lived in it. The last house on the hill, situated just as 
the road joined Main street, was owned and occupied by 
Dr. John Park with his wife and two daughters. Miss 
Louisa, the elder of the two was an authoress of some repute, 
she having written and published a novel. She married 
Rev. Dr. Edward Hall of Providence, the father of Rev. 
Edward H. Hall, at one time pastor of the "Second Parish." 
Miss Mary Ann Park married Hon. B. F. Thomas. Dr. 
Park moved to Worcester in 1831, from Boston, where he 
had established a school for young ladies in Mt. Vernon 
street. After their daughters were married, Dr. and Mrs. Park 
moved to the "W^orcester House," where Dr. Park died in 



10 Old Worcester. IV. 

1852. Mrs. Park survived him some years. The "Wor- 
cester House," which was formerly the home of Gov. Levi 
Lincoln, is now I understand called the "Lincoln House." 
It was much enlarged when it became a hotel, and was 
the home at one time of a number of Worcester families, 
to say nothing of those who lived there from time to time as 
their business or pleasure called them to Worcester. Public 
and private parties, receptions and dinners were given there, 
and cotillon parties were held during one winter, every 
fortnight, in the large dining hall. Many law students also 
made the "Worcester House" their home. It is a difficult 
matter when a person has been living away from a place for 
more than fifty years as I have been, to remember details 
concerning people I formerly knew, and places, and houses 
with which I was once so familiar. I have no doubt that 
v;ith the best intentions to be accurate in my account of 
"Old Worcester" I have made many mistakes. My atten- 
tion has been called to two misstatements I have made 
regarding Mrs. Spooner, but I "told the tale as it was told 
to me." 

This unfortunate lady was not a relative of my father's 
family, but she was closely connected with it, for her sister, 
Miss Elizabeth Ruggles, married Mr. Gardiner Chandler 
(son of John Chandler), who was first cousin to my grand- 
father, Dr. William Paine, and I have no doubt that these 
Worcester County families were on intimate terms, for they 
sympathized in their political opinions, being faithful 
adherents to the "British Crown." When a child, I often 
used to hear the story of Mrs. Spooner, and was told that she 
was executed on "Millstone Hill," and that her grave was 
in the woods opposite Dr. Paine's house.* I was also told 
that she was confined during her trial in the "old prison," 
in Lincoln square. Having no knowledge that there had 



' Mrs. Spooner with the three other accomplices on the crime were executed upon 
a knoll which existed nearly upon the site of the Union Station. She was buried in 
the g.i.rdcu of the A. H. Green estate on Green Hill. 



Old Worcester. IV. 11 

ever been a jail on that spot prior to the one I remembered 
and knew on the south side of the square, I naturally sup- 
posed this jail was the one referred to by my elders, when I 
listened to the story of Mrs. Spooner and her unhappy fate. 

As regards the Daniel Waldo house, — by using the word 
"double" in describing it, I had no intention of conveying 
the idea that it was two houses under one roof. I remember 
it perfectly well, and that it was a large square brick house 
with rooms on each side of the front door. It may not be 
correct to use the word "double" in reference to such a 
building, but it is not infrequently used to designate a house 
built like the Waldo Mansion. 

There is a house in Washington similar to the Waldo 
house, formerly occupied by a Secretary of State, and I have 
noticed recently in a letter from a Washington correspondent 
to a Boston newspaper, that he refers to this house in con- 
nection with its present occupants as " a large double house." 
When Daniel Waldo, Sr., moved to his new house, he used 
the south part of the lower story for the business of The 
Worcester Bank, he being its first president. 

Pearl Street and its Vicinity, About 1840. 

As the inhabitants of Worcester increased greater demands 
were made for business facilities, and to attain that end 
a brick block of stores, handsome for those days, had been 
erected covering the whole space of ground on Main street 
between Elm and Pearl streets, and in consequence the 
house formerly standing on this spot and occupied by Mr. 
Calvin Willard had been moved round the south corner into 
Pearl street, thus forming one of the first buildings on this 
thoroughfare. With few exceptions my memory fails me as 
to the occupants of the new building, but at the northern 
end on the corner of Elm and Main streets, one flight up, 
Dr. Blood the dentist had an office, and about midway in 
the block in the third story a gentleman by the name of 



12 Old Worcester. IV. 

Phipps had opened a girl's school, which I attended. On 
the southern corner was a store occupied by Messrs. William 
and Albert Brown, merchant tailors, men much respected 
in the town. The firm was an old one — how old I can- 
not say, — but it was in existence in 1830, for Mr. C. C. 
Baldwin in his "Diary " mentions that he bought "a new 
green coat" of them in that year. This store was as fav- 
orably situated as was the old "Citizens' Bank," to observe 
the comings and goings of the citizens of the small town 
of that day, and if all reports were true gentlemen living in 
that part of Worcester were wont to "drop in" there on 
their way home at noon and the latter part of the day 
to hear what was going on in the town, and to interchange 
opinions on matters of public or private import. Over 
the Browns' store were lawyers' offices and their signs quite 
covered that end of the building. Mr. Willard continued 
to reside in his house after it had been transplanted, but 
when he left it Dr. Joseph Sargent occupied it. He was, I 
think, a Leicester man, and had recently returned from 
Paris, where he had been pursuing his medical studies, 
and was now ready to advise any patients who might entrust 
themselves to his care. He married Miss Emily Whitney of 
Cambridge, and remained in this house until he moved into 
the "Deacon Butman" house on the southern end of Main 
street. 

Next to the Sargent house,* Mr. Albert Brown had built 
a small wooden one^ for his own use, or so I am told, for I 
cannot recall it. 

Beyond this house going west was a brick block of 
two houses. The eastern one was occupied by Mrs. Denny, 
with her daughters, and one grandchild, she having moved 
here from her house on the corner of Main and Mechanic 
streets, "in the south part of which one of her daughters. 
Miss Elizabeth Denny, kept a store for the sale of the finer 
class of dry goods, ladies' fine shoes, &c." Miss Mary Denny 

' On I'earl street. - A two-story house. 



Old Worcester. IV. 13 

married her uncle of the same name as herself, who lived in 
Leicester, but as this marriage was not legal in Massachu- 
setts, they were obliged to go to Connecticut to have the 
ceremony performed, and I believe they made their home 
in Norwich in that State. 

Miss Harriet Denny was engaged to Mr, William Lincoln, 
a younger brother of the late Gov. Levi Lincoln, but his 
death severed the relation. She at a later date married 
Colonel Nahum Ward, a native of Shrewsbury, but at this 
time a resident of Marietta, Ohio, he having at an earlier 
date settled in the western country. 

I am reminded, for I do not recollect the circumstance, 
that he brought a mummy from the Mammouth Cave to the 
American Antiquarian Society, and that Mr. Samuel Jen- 
nison wrote a poem on the subject, which was published in 
the Worcester Spy, the first two lines being — 

" Just arrived from Kentucky 
Colonel Ward and his Ducky." 

Miss Caroline Denny, the granddaughter, married Dr. 
John Tyler, who was for many years the head of the McLean 
Asylum for the Insane, but she only lived a few years after 
that event. There was a brother, Mr. Austin Denny, but 
if he was an inmate of his mother's house, I cannot recall 
the fact. 

" All the ladies are out but me," was the answer I received 
one day at the door when I called on my schoolmate Miss 
Caroline Denny; an amusing incident which I only mention 
as an illustration of the simple ways of the "Yankee Help" 
of those days. 

In the other part of the block lived Dr. Smalley, a clergy- 
man of the orthodox persuasion, and pastor of the Union 
Church, which stood on Front street, next to the house 
occupied at one time by Mr. Rejoice Newton; at a much 
earlier date however than when the church was built. The 
family consisted of Dr. and Mrs. Smalley and their son 



14 Old Worcester. IV. 

George, who for many years lived in London, as corres- 
pondent of the New York Tribune, and who made for himself 
a good position in "London Society." For the last few 
years he has resided in New York, acting as correspondent 
of the London Times. He has also written a book, composed 
of sketches of people of note whom he had met while in 
Europe, and in which he gives an interesting account of 
Mr. Gladstone's famous "Mid-Lothian" campaign, of which 
he formed a part in some official capacity. 

In the next house above dwelt Mr. Emory Washburn, 
with his wife and children; a lawyer by profession, and a 
man of genial, pleasant manners. He married Miss Giles 
of Walpole, N. H., a well educated, agreeable woman, with 
conversational powers of no mean order, who made her 
house a pleasant resort for her guests both old and young. 
Miss Giles, a sister of Mrs. Washburn, formed a part of the 
household. Mr. Washburn was one of that group of lawyers 
in Worcester who made the "Worcester Bar" so famous, 
for there was none more so outside of Suffolk County. 
Judge Barton, Pliny Merrick, B. F. Thomas, Charles Allen, 
Emory Washburn and others of lesser note in their profession, 
were renowned all over the State for their legal learning, 
and the young women of those days were largely indebted 
to this fact, for law students came from far and wide and 
filled the offices of these lawyers in order to be initiated into 
the intricacies of the legal profession. There were always 
plenty of young men in society for partners at balls and 
parties. 

Mr. Emory Washburn was born in Leicester in 1800, 
graduated from Williams College and studied law at Harvard. 
In 1828, he went to Worcester and for some years was the 
law partner of "Honest" John Davis. He held a variety 
of public offices, being at different periods State Senator 
and Representative to the General Court, aid on Governor 
Lincoln's staff from 1830 to 1834 ; Judge of the "Court of 
Common Pleas," so called formerly, but later " The Superior 



Old Worcester. IV. 15 

Court " ; and was elected Governor of the State of Massa- 
chusetts in 1854, being called "the last Whig Governor of 
Massachusetts." Finally he was made "Dane Professor'' 
in the Law School at Harvard, holding the same office 
until 1876 when he resigned. Governor Washburn made 
his home in Cambridge the latter part of his life, and died 
there in 1877. Mrs. Washburn survived her husband for 
many years, having passed away not long since. Of the 
four children of Governor and Mrs. Washburn, three sons 
and one daughter, only the latter survived their parents. 

Among the prominent law students who came to Worcester 
at the time to which I refer, was the late Francis H. Dewey, 
son of Judge Dewey of Northampton. 

Passing up the street one comes to a large wooden mansion 
painted white, with the end to the street, on the east side 
of which was a piazza from which one entered the house. 
The garden extended down to the Washburn premises. 
Here lived Hon. Thomas Kinnicutt, a native of Warren, 
R. I., born in 1800, and who died in Worcester in 1858. He 
was a lawyer by profession, at one period Speaker of the 
State House of Representatives and Judge of Probate for 
the County of Worcester. He married Harriet Paine Bur- 
ling, my kinswoman, for we were both great grandchildren 
of Judge Timothy Paine and Sarah Chandler his wife, who 
was born in 1805 and died in 1838. She was the first person 
to be buried in the Rural Cemetery. There were three 
children, two sons and one daughter, the latter and one 
son outliving their parents.^ 

In the last house of all on the northern side of Pearl 
street lived Mr. Henry W. Miller. He was a hardware 
merchant, and his store in nij'- time was the one in the south- 
ern end of Granite Block, on Main street. In May, 1829, 
according to the Diary of Mr. C. C. Baldwin, from which 
I quote, "Henry W. Miller of the firm of Rice & ^liller of 



1 Mr.Washbuni was a Councillor of tlie American Antiquarian Society for twenty- 
eight years. 



16 Old Worcester. IV. 

this town, married Miss Nancy Merrick, sister of Pliny 
Merrick. Do not attend the wedding." There were two 
daughters of this marriage, one the wife of the senior Senator 
of Massachusetts, and the other the late Mrs. W. W. Rice. 
Mr. Miller married for his second wife a Boston lady by the 
name of Andrews, both have died within a few years; and 
his son-in-law Senator Hoar wrote and published in one of 
the Worcester newspapers an appreciative notice of him. 
Passing over to the southern side of Pearl street, was 
the house of Mr. William Brown, the first one who lived there 
with his wife and daughter, Miss Fanny Brown. Next came 
the house of Mr. Samuel Jennison ; his wife and five children 
composing the household. This building was, though on 
a smaller scale, almost the counterpart of that of Judge 
Kinnicutt's opposite, the garden reaching down the street 
as did his. The youngest daughter married a son of Judge 
Barton, and died many years since, but the three older ones 
are still living. Samuel Jennison, Jr., has died very recently, 
having outlived his wife, who was Miss Mary Thaxter of 
Watertown, many years. He was very musical and con- 
tributed greatly to the enjoyment of his sister's friends by 
singing German songs to them at the social gatherings of 
the young people at the house. Mr. Jennison, the elder, was 
librarian of the American Antiquarian Society from 1814 
to 1825, and for twenty-eight years its treasurer. He was 
also for many years cashier of the Worcester Bank, "the 
gentle and genial cashier, " as he was styled. Now my 
memory fails me, but I am told that at the end of Mr. Jen- 
nison's garden stood a small wooden house occupied at one 
time by Mr. William Cross. The next house going east was 
a square wooden building, painted white, and here in 1845 
Miss Lucretia Bancroft, the ninth child of Dr. Aaron Bancroft 
and his wife Lucretia, opened a boarding and day school 
for young ladies. Prior to this occupancy however, Mrs. 
Phelps kept a boarding-house here, and her son Henry, who 
was a clerk in the dry goods store of Mr. H. B. Claflin, 



Old Worcester. IV. 17 

married Miss Burt, a daughter of Mr, Simeon Burt. Among 
the scholars at Miss Bancroft's school were two daughters 
of Mr. Welcome Farnum of Blackstone, Mass., a rich manu- 
facturer, whose residential village went by the name of 
" Farnumsville." Soon after the opening of the school. Miss 
Bancroft became Mrs. Farnum, and Mr. H. G. 0. Blake 
took possession with Mrs. Blake, of the school. The latter 
died in 1846, and I suppose this event caused the school to 
come to an end. The next I heard or recall of this house, 
was that rooms were let in it to young men, and it was 
styled "The Bower," but of the origin of this designation 
I am ignorant. Mrs. Farnum passed the latter years of her 
life in Europe with her nephew, Mr. George Davis, who had 
married his cousin. Miss Clara Gherardi. After the death 
of Mrs. Bancroft, the wife of the historian, Mrs. Farnum 
left Germany, where she was then residing, to come home 
to be with her brother in his declining years, but as fate 
would have it, she died on the passage, so near her desti- 
nation most happily that she was not buried at sea ; but 
being brought to Worcester was, after funeral services 
being performed in her father's old church, laid at rest 
with her kindred in Rural Cemetery, 

There was one more house before reaching Main street, but 
I remember very little about it except that it was occupied 
at one time by Doctor Bates, with his family. Heywood's 
dry goods store stood on the corner of Main and Pearl. 
Does anyone know from what circumstance this street 
derived the name of "Pearl," one of no significance, and 
why it was not named as other streets in its vicinity were, 
such as Maple, Walnut, Elm, and Chestnut, for some of our 
native trees? 

Some Facts concerning Colored People and Domestic 
Service in the Early Life of Worcester. 

When I was a child there was quite a colony of colored 
people living in a part of Worcester called "Pine Meadow," 



18 Old Worcester. IV. 

and I think we may assume that it was composed of the 
descendants of slaves which were owned by the inhabitants 
of that town during the latter part of the eighteenth century. 

I read that on "November 29th, 1767, the Rev. Thaddeus 
Maccarty married ' Cumberland and Dinah ' negro servants 
to Gardiner Chandler." 

"On November 24th, 1771, Dido, negro servant to John 
Chandler, was married to Cato, negro servant to Adam 
Walker." In 1784, Ann Chandler, widow of Sheriff Chand- 
ler, before a Justice of the Peace, prays for allowance for 
supporting Sylvia, negro woman, one year and one-half, from 
June, 1782, to January, 1784, £23 8s. 

The Worcester Spy of May, 1805, says "Died in this place 
Sylvia, a female African, supposed to be at least 105 years 
old." "Mrs. EHza (Bancroft) Davis says that she well re- 
members old Sylvia, who made it her pleasure to attend 
young children, and she recalls what was said of her age, 
for she made at the age of fourteen a shroud for the old 
woman when she was just one hundred years older than 
herself." 

This slave seems originally to have belonged in the 
family of John Chandler, the father of Sheriff Chandler, for 
when his second wife died, she left this woman to the care 
of Mrs. Timothy Paine, being included as part of her assets, 
in the division of her property. I quote the following, 
"In this Chandler Family there had been a slave, called in 
1803 and 1804, Old Aunt Sylvia, and at that time she was 
107 years old and perhaps 114." "When the Hon. James 
Putnam fled from Worcester during the Revolution, he left 
behind him a negro man." Mrs. Lucre tia Bancroft in a 
letter refers to an old colored cook in her father's family. 
Judge Timothy Paine seems to have owned slaves, for when 
he had his wig knocked off on the occasion of his forced 
resignation of the office of Mandamus Councillor, he refused 
to replace it or again wear one, but presented it "to one of 
his slaves called Worcester." 



Old Worcester. IV. 19 

So we may suppose that the two families mentioned above 
were not the only people who were slaveholders in Worces- 
ter in former days, and that later, in a free State, the slaves 
increased and multiplied. The first colored or mulatto 
woman whom I remember in Worcester was Mrs. John Rich, 
a most excellent person, who went out to cook dinners on 
special occasions, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving Days. 
She was always dressed in the cleanest of calico dresses, 
with a bright colored plaid handkerchief on her shoulders 
and one round her head. She was well to do, and I think 
owned her house in the town, where she lived with her 
husband. She was small in stature and a particularly neat 
looking little body. When the lots in the Rural Cemetery 
were first sold, she bought one, but when she died there was 
quite a difference of opinion among those in authority as 
to allowing her to be buried there. Finally the question 
was settled in her favor, though not without some strong 
opposite opinions being expressed on the subject. 

Another colored woman whom I recall was Mrs. Vanvac- 
ter, a laundress by profession, who, to use an expression 
common among her fraternity, "washed" for the Supreme 
Court Judges when they were in Worcester, it being per- 
fectly understood however, that the work was done in the 
different houses where she washed by the day. The washing 
she could manage easily, and not be detected in so doing but 
the ironing was another affair, so she would do it when the 
family were at dinner, or later in the day when she felt 
secure from interruption. 

When the Supreme Court was in session if the people 
employing her, examined their clothes lines critically they 
would be sure to find some of Chief Justice Shaw's volumi- 
nous shirts flapping in the wind. At our house one day she 
burned the ruffles on one of his shirt bosoms off, but folded 
it up carefully and shaking with laughter said, "He won't 
find it out until he gets home." This woman was as black 
as the ace of spades but held herself to be above her race, 



20 Old Worcester. IV. 

and when a hall was arranged so the colored people could 
go to meeting by themselves, she tossed her head in the 
air and said, "I am not going to church with niggers," 
in answer to an inquiry as to her intentions in the matter. 
This woman was a "character," and a source of great 
amusement to the children in the family. Then there was 
a couple of mulattoes John Morey and wife, most respect- 
able worthy people, he a barber by profession who, it was 
said, always went to bed every night with clothes pins on 
their noses, to get them in good shape. John Angier was 
another colored man whom everybody knew, but was not 
a shining light in the community. He married Mary, the 
slave girl whom Mrs. Rose had brought from Antigua, and 
who found to her cost that slavery under her gentle mis- 
tress was far preferable to being the hard-worked wife of 
this worthless negro. 

Does any one in Worcester remember "Sam," for I never 
heard of his having any other name, who was a Washington 
negro, a bright capable young man, who used to come and go 
between Washington and Worcester, with Mr. and Mrs. 
John Davis when the former was in the Senate. Mrs. Davis 
used to give a most amusing account of the way she managed 
when any of her Washington friends came to visit her. In 
those days a good cook in a house was an impossibility, 
and perhaps having in her kitchen only an ignorant Yankee 
woman, who had not the faintest ideas even of the rudiments 
of cooking, she had to trust to "Sam" for everything in 
that department. She would instruct Mr. Davis to have a 
vehicle at the door as soon as he conveniently could after 
breakfast, to take their guests for a drive, and begging him 
to keep them out as long as possible. As soon as they 
were out of sight, she would put on a working dress, and 
descending to the kitchen, would prepare the dinner, and 
set every thing in train, knowing that "Sam" could cook 
it, take it up and bring it to the dining-room in proper order. 
Then she would dress again and be ready to receive her 



Old Worcester. IV. 21 

guests on their arrival. Then after the dinner was served 
and eaten the company would congratulate her on having 
such an excellent cook. And no doubt the cooking was 
good, for all the members of the "Chandler Family" knew 
what good eating was, and were learned in culinary lore. 
One of the family many years ago was said to have died 
from eating too much succotash, not the dish generally 
known by that name, but a far richer compound, composed 
of chicken, salt pork, corn and beans, of which modern cooks 
have no idea of making. Miss Mary Bancroft's "Huckle- 
berry Pudding" was famous, and in an ancient receipt book, 
I see her name marked against the receipt for it. 

One of the queer characters I recall in Worcester was a 
man named "Fay," a carpenter by trade, who used to come 
to the house to do odd jobs in his line and to make sleds for 
the children. He was a poet also, and used to bring his 
effusions to the house for us to read. One poem he ad- 
dressed to the blue eyes of my grandmother, which was 
acknowledged in a handsome and substantial way, as I 
suppose he intended it should be. He lived somewhere in 
the rear of the "Baptist Meeting House," which stood on a 
street leading from Front to Park street, and in those days 
on the top of the hill. 

On the lower part of this roadway, near Front street, 
used to stand an old yellow barn, in which was kept the town 
hearse, a very different looking vehicle from those now in 
use. A story used to be told that some of the early Chandlers 
of youthful age, brought it out one night, when in an uproar- 
ious mood, and drove all over the village perched on the top 
of it ; a story perhaps as apocryphal as the one of their 
roasting and basting with butter and flour a Bible on one 
occasion, but which may be true, for some of the young men 
of this family one hundred years and more ago were from all 
accounts inclined to convivial pastimes. In "old times," 
there was a class of people in New England, of whom there 
are very few left. They were not servants in the modern 



22 Old Worcester. IV. 

acceptation of the term, but to use an old fashioned phrase, 
they were "The Help" in the family and often the standby s 
of the household. In a case of emergency "The Help" did 
not stop to consider what "her work was." The household 
machinery was out of order, and that was enough. The 
matter rectified, she returned to what she had in hand at 
the moment. It might be the tending of the baby, baking 
bread or doing the family mending. Her duties were various, 
and she was an adept at them all. It was not unusual in 
former days for young American girls to enter a family, not 
with the idea of "bettering themselves" the next week if 
opportunity offered, but to make it their home until they 
married, and often they remained until death severed the 
relation. Twenty, thirty, forty years was a term of service 
not uncommon, and in one case I knew of, the half-century 
was nearly rounded out. The joys and sorrows, and the 
interests of the family, were theirs; but no such love and 
devotion can be bought in these modern days, when the 
relation between mistress and servants is so often strained, 
and the latter are so constantly migrating from house to 
house, making the tie between them only a mercenary 
one. 

In these later days however, these women would be entire- 
ly out of place, for with modern days come new customs, 
fashions and manners, and they belong to the period of groat 
wood fires in the kitchen, before which the roasting was 
done in a tin kitchen, cakes baked before the coals, the pan 
being held up by a flat-iron, bread toasted in a toasting-iron, 
in front of the hot coals, great ovens in which the week's 
baking was done, and when we used to blow a hot coal 
close to a wick of an oil lamp to light it, and when we 
carried coals and burning sticks in an iron receptacle from 
one room to another to light a fire — and when after the 
kitchen floor had been washed up, sanded and herring-boned, 
and the settle had been put in place beside the hearth, 
then they were in their element and could "sit down with 



Old Worcester. IV. 23 

their whole weight," as the country people would say when 
they had finished the week's work on a Saturday. 

Formerly there was scarcely one of the old families in 
Worcester that had not some ancient American servant in 
their employ, of one or both sexes, but they have gradually 
passed away, for when the factories were estabhshed in 
New England, young girls went to work in them, and for a 
time there was a great dearth of servants until the Irish 
came to take their places. "Nine shillings" a week, or as 
we should now say, $1.50, was considered good wages for a 
cook; and young girls were supposed to work for their 
clothing, and as they progressed in domestic knowledge, for 
seventy-five cents per week, their wages being increased in 
the course of time to one dollar, more or less, according to 
their merits. These young girls were taught to read and 
write, to sew, and spell, and were generally cared for by their 
employers. It was the custom in former days in the 
country for the lady of the house to go into the kitchen 
every morning, not only to give her directions for the day, 
but to prepare the dinner, to make the pudding, and to 
have a general oversight of domestic matters, leaving the 
actual cooking of the dinner to "The Help," who could do 
all that was needful for the simple every-day meal ; but 
when company was coming to dine it was an anxious time 
for the hostess. I recall an amusing story told me by an old 
lady of former days. When on one occasion she expected 
people to dine she had prepared some young spring chick- 
ens to roast, placing their livers under their wings, and 
leaving them all ready for the occupant of the kitchen to 
cook. Feeling doubtful concerning the result of her labors, 
she took a look into the kitchen at the last moment, and 
to her consternation found the birds all in the tin kitchen, 
hanging legs downwards, the spit having been run through 
their sides, and there they were looking like little dancing- 
masters with their chapeaux under their arms. There was 
no time to be lost, so the lady went to work and sewed up 



JIJN 13 1907 



24 Old Worcester. IV. 

the holes, put them again on the spit in a more orthodox 
fashion, and doubtless the dinner went off just as well as 
if the chickens had been properly spitted in the first place. 
Mrs. Stowe gives an amusing account of "Yankee Help" 
in her "Punkapog Folks," a very important class of people 
in former days in all New England households. 



